Is it worth it?
by anxresi
Summary: Alternative ending to the episode Queen Wasp. Chloe has finally discovered a way of connecting with her long estranged mother, and this would be by being as mean as possible. Miss Bustier however arrives on the scene, and she has something to say about this situation. Can her unexpected intervention provoke a change of heart?


Chloe had just told the hapless helicopter guy he was fired along with her mother in unison, and she was finally happy! At long last she'd found something her and the longtime distant Mrs Bourgeois had in common… their unremittingly meanness. Maybe.

"I can't believe I didn't see all this time, what a truly exceptional person you are." Chloe's mom walked back to the limousine side-by-side with her daughter whilst grinning like a crocodile brushing it's teeth. "I could never chew out Jean-something the way you just did back there! And to think, you were such a pitiful child, always leaking tears whilst clutching that stupid mouldy old bear! You have safely disposed of that raggedy thing I presume, as per my precise instructions whilst I was touring the globe?"

"E-Er yes, mother." The slightly stuttering heiress blatantly lied as she attempted to thread her arm through Audrey's, without much success. "And you'll never believe what I did to the rest of my inferior classmates whilst you were away, either! There was the boy I dumped in front of everyone through cellphone, the girl I had shut in the toilet so I could be front and center in the class photograph, the blogger I got suspended when she dared take pictures of me by my locker…"

"Ugh, I know what you mean darling. Those paparazzos are the worst." Audrey was only half-listening to her daughter as she got into the posh car, whilst shooting the driver a dirty look. "You can tell me all about it back at the hotel, just as I'm running my bubble bath. It won't take longer than five minutes, will it dear? Hey you, is that a mustard stain I spy on your collar?! How dare you seek to chauffeur a lady of my fine standing with such an unsightly blemish besmirching your blazer! You're fire…"

But before Mrs Bourgeois could parrot those immortal words that'd become so commonplace they'd almost become a parody, a smartly attired female adult wandered over to join the scene. Her long red hair was in a bun, and her keen green eyes observed the situation in front of her with a mixture of interest and concern. "Hello there, you must be Chloe's mother".

"And who in Paris might you be?!" Audrey's attention was taken away from chastising her trembling driver momentarily, and she lowered her shades slightly to scowl at the new arrival. "You can't just step up to the biggest celebrity in the city right now and expect a private audience! Either book an appointment with my agent, or I'll have you arrested for obstruction! Honestly, the sheer cheek of some people…"

"E-Er mom, this is actually my teacher Miss Bustier." Chloe let out a nervous laugh at this juncture. "Among all the useless grown-ups I know, she's probably among the best. T-That's not to say I like her or anything, I-I mean look at her bargain basement clothes! She could never be as important as you or me, but at least she knows her place and doesn't give me too much of a hard time. Considering how pathetic almost everyone else is in school, I suppose she's kind of okay."

Miss Bustier turned her attention to her most disruptive student at this juncture, her face torn somewhere between pity and compassion. "Chloe, you don't have to lie to impress your mother, you know. I saw the way you were playing up for the cameras at home earlier on television, and I just had to come down to see it for myself. Now I've heard everything the two of you said, I think I understand more. Why don't you try telling her the truth, instead? After all, a lie can only last so long. Remember the lovely letter you wrote when you brought me my birthday presen.."

"What is this strange person waffling on about?" Audrey said impatiently, as she wanted so much to get home and immerse herself in lavender-scented heaven. Having never attended one of her daughter's parent open days, it was no surprise she failed to recognize the other adult there. "You wouldn't lie to me Coralin… I mean, Chloe, would you? I mean, lying is fine as long as it's in aid of a good cause, like getting one over on your closest competitor or grabbing the best seat on the plane, but not to your own flesh and blood. Come on now, spit it out, so we can end this sorry charade once and for all!"

Chloe was caught in a difficult quandary. She glanced first at her mother, the woman that she'd tried for years to impress and had finally managed it. At long last she could spend some 'quality' time with her… insulting people, ridiculing them, making them feel like dirt… yeah.

On the other hand, there was Miss Bustier. This poverty-stricken teacher could barely afford a half-decent car, and yet she'd never ceased trying to encourage the blonde to be a better person, even when she'd been at her worst. With all the praise and motivation she got from the irritatingly chipper redhead, Chloe was quite sure she'd never have to be someone she wasn't to be called 'exceptional'…

Then, it all clicked.

"M-Mom…" Chloe started nervously, almost as if the wrong word could explode the intently listening fashionista into smithereens. "T-There are a few things you should know about me…"

"Oh really? And what, pray tell, might those be?" Audrey's face was as stony as the Arc De Triomphe.

"F-For starters, I-I'm not just 'using' Sabrina, she's actually my best friend. Even if sometimes I don't act like it." Chloe now put on a more determined look, as years of pent-up secrets and repressed anger rose up to the top. "I also am mostly mean to people to win your affection, a trade-in which I'm beginning to realize might not be worth it for the amount of people who hate me now. It's the few nice things I've done recently, which have made me feel good inside, that have made me see that. Whilst you've been gone, I've apologized for my bad behaviour, I've saved Ladybug's life on at least two occasions, I just returned the Miraculous when I could've quite easily kept it, a-and…"

"And, what?" If Mrs Bourgeois had been taken aback by any of these startling revelations, not a drop of emotion registered through her shades.

"I still love Mr Cuddly!" Chloe's words were loud and distinct, and even though she cringed inwardly upon saying them, the heiress was not about to withdraw them now. "I hug him when I'm sad! I go to bed with him at night! He provides a great source of comfort to me, something you never did whilst I was growing up! Every time I felt upset and I came to you for help, it was always 'Not Now, Chloe' or 'Don't Be Such A Baby, Chloe'. Whilst you were building your Spring Collection, I was crying myself to sleep every night! I needed a mother, not a workaholic! I'm sure Daddy felt the same way, he just was always too terrified to confront you about it! Thanks to you, I still suck my thumb! You can never remember my name or birthday! And now you expect me to carry on being horrible to everyone, just so we have something to 'bond' over? W-Well, I don't want to! Can't we just go out instead, and get ice cream or something? I know this wonderful singing vendor who sells the best cones this side of the Seine… sure, his voice can get kind of annoying after a while, but if we can ignore that…"

"Enough! Ridiculous, utterly ridiculous!" Mrs Bourgeois waved her hand contemptuously as if swatting away a fly. "Obviously my initial instincts about you were right all along. You really are 'unexceptional', just like your lickspittle of a father. If that's really how you feel, then clearly I'm wasting my time here. Driver, I'll overlook your sartorial faux pas this once just as long as you turn your collar inside out so I don't have to stare at the stain, and most importantly, get me out of here as fast as you can. I'll be staying at another hotel darling, and I'll arrange to have the rest of my things sent on. If you ever regain some semblance of sanity, please feel free to join me. If not, then perhaps I'll pop over for an hour or two Christmas Day. Maybe. Now go, Driver. And don't take your foot off the pedal until I tell you to."

As the chauffeur grumbled something probably profane under his breath before speeding her Ladyship off into the distance, Chloe couldn't help but sink to her knees, almost in tears.

"I-I hope you're happy now." She screeched, trying not to look her teacher straight in the eye, lest she completely break down. " I-I've just lost the one chance I had to forge a serious connection with my mother. W-Why did you have to show up when you did? W-Why did you have to bring up the letter?! W-Why couldn't you have just left us a-alone…"

Miss Bustier didn't hesitate any longer. She rushed over to her broken pupil, picked her safely off the ground and gave her a hug of such warmness and tenderness it completely eclipsed the time she'd embraced Chloe on the top of the Eiffel Tower a few short months ago.

It was only as the blonde's sobs began to cease and the pooling moisture in her eyes began to dissipate that the teacher began to pull away, with a clear look of pride on her face from the second she locked eyes with her snivelling student.

"Chloe, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I know the person you want to be isn't the one you are now, and if your mother can't accept that, that's something she needs to deal with, not you. All that stuff I teach in class about 'Being Yourself' and 'Standing Up For What You Believe In'? I might see you roll your eyes and scoff through my lessons, but I thought my words might be getting through to you. I now see I was right, all you needed was a little nudge in the right direction. I truly believe today is the start of a new path for you, where all of your dreams will come true and everyone around you, including yourself, will be much happier. Now, seeing as your mother didn't want to take you, shall we get some ice cream together instead? My treat?"

"Y-Yes, I think I'd like that, Miss Bustier. B-But… do you really think everything will be okay?"

"I do, Chloe. Things have a way of working themselves out, believe it or not. And even if they don't, you have many people who care about you who'll help you out, whatever happens next. For now though, shall we try and enjoy ourselves? Before I forget, would you like one scoop, or two?"

"…T-Two I think, Miss Bustier. And afterwards, can we stop off for pizza?"


End file.
